LASERS

Characteristics of Laser
Laser light has four unique characteristics that differentiate it from ordinary light: these are;
 Coherence
 Directionality
 Monochromatic
 High intensity

1. Coherence
We know that visible light is emitted when excited electrons (electrons in higher energy level)
jumped into the lower energy level (ground state). The process of electrons moving from
higher energy level to lower energy level or lower energy level to higher energy level is called
electron transition.

In ordinary light sources (lamp, sodium lamp and torch light), the electron transition occurs
naturally. In other words, electron transition in ordinary light sources is random in time. The
photons emitted from ordinary light sources have different energies, frequencies, wavelengths,
or colors. Hence, the light waves of ordinary light sources have many wavelengths. Therefore,
photons emitted by an ordinary light source are out of phase.

In laser, the electron transition occurs artificially. In other words, in laser, electron transition occurs in specific
time. All the photons emitted in laser have the same energy, frequency, or wavelength. Hence, the light
waves of laser light have single wavelength or color. Therefore, the wavelengths of the laser light are in
phase in space and time. In laser, a technique called stimulated emission is used to produce light.

1
Thus, light generated by laser is highly coherent. Because of this coherence, a large amount of power
can be concentrated in a narrow space.

2. Directionality

In conventional light sources (lamp, sodium lamp and torchlight), photons will travel in random
direction. Therefore, these light sources emit light in all directions.

On the other hand, in laser, all photons will travel in same direction. Therefore, laser emits light only in one
direction. This is called directionality of laser light. The width of a laser beam is extremely narrow. Hence, a
laser beam can travel to long distances without spreading.

2
If an ordinary light travels a distance of 2 km, it spreads to about 2 km in diameter. On the
other hand, if a laser light travels a distance of 2 km, it spreads to a diameter less than 2 cm.
3. Monochromatic

Monochromatic light means a light containing a single color or wavelength. The photons
emitted from ordinary light sources have different energies, frequencies, wavelengths, or colors.
Hence, the light waves of ordinary light sources have many wavelengths or colors. Therefore,
ordinary light is a mixture of waves having different frequencies or wavelengths.
On the other hand, in laser, all the emitted photons have the same energy, frequency, or wavelength. Hence,
the light waves of laser have single wavelength or color. Therefore, laser light covers a very narrow range of
frequencies or wavelengths.

4. High Intensity

You know that the intensity of a wave is the energy per unit time flowing through a unit normal
area. In an ordinary light source, the light spreads out uniformly in all directions.

If you look at a 100 Watt lamp filament from a distance of 30 cm, the power entering your eye
is less than 1/1000 of a watt.

In laser, the light spreads in small region of space and in a small wavelength range. Hence,
laser light has greater intensity when compared to the ordinary light.

If you look directly along the beam from a laser (caution: don’t do it), then all the power in the
laser would enter your eye. Thus, even a 1 Watt laser would appear many thousand times more
intense than 100 Watt ordinary lamp.

Thus, these four properties of laser beam enable us to cut a huge block of steel by melting. They
are also used for recording and reproducing large information on a compact disc (CD).
EINSTEINS EQUATIONS (OR) EINSTAINS CO- EFFICIENTS :

It is the expression for probability for stimulated emission of radiation to the probability for
spontaneous emission of radiation under thermal equilibrium.
Let us consider E1, E2 be the energy states and N1, N2 be the no of atoms per unit volume .

N2 E2

N1 E1

Let ρ(υ)dυ is the radiation energy per unit volume between the frequency range of υ and υ+dυ

ABSORPTION:
3
An atom in the lower energy state E1 can absorb radiation and get excited to the state E2

The probability of rate of occurrence of absorption transition 12 would be proportional to N1

and ()

The number of atoms under going absorption per unit volume per second from level E1 to E2
Na = N1 ρ(υ )B12

Where B12 represents probability of absorption per unit time. It is known as Einstein’s co-
efficient of absorption probability per unit time

STIMULATED EMISSION:
When an atom makes transition E2 toE1 in the presence of external photon whose energy equal
to (E2-E1) then stimulated emission takes place .

The probability of rate of occurrence of absorption transition 21 would be proportional to N2

and ()

The number of stimulated emission per unit volume per second from levels E2 to E1
Nst = N2 ρ(υ) B21

B21 is represents probability of stimulated emission per unit time.

It is known as Einstein’s co- efficient of stimulated emission probability per unit time

4
SPONSTANEOUS EMISSION:
An atom in the level E2 can also make a spontaneous emission by jumping in to
lower energy level E1.

The probability of rate of occurrence of absorption transition 21 would be

proportional to N2

The number of spontaneous emission per unit volume per second from
levels E2 to E1 Nsp= N2A21

A21 represents probability of spontaneous emission per unit time. It is known as

Einstein’s co-efficient of stimulated emission probability per unit time

Under steady state (dN / dt) = 0

No of atoms under going absorption per second = no of atoms under
going emission per second

 N1 ρ(υ )B12 = N2 ρ(υ )B21 + N2 A21

Since , from law of distribution we know that

N1 / N2 = exp(E2 - E1) / kBT = ehυ / kT Here KB = K

&(E2 - E1) = hυ Substituting N1 / N2 in equation 1

We get

ρ (υ) = ( A21 / B21) [ 1 /{( ehυ / kT )( B12 / B21)} – 1]  (2)

From Planck’s radiation formula

ρ (υ) = (8h3 / c3) [ 1 /( ehυ / kT ) – 1]  (3)

from equation (2) and (3)

( A21 / B21) = (8h3 / c3)

5
At Thermal Equilibrium Spontaneous Emission Dominates over the stimulated
emission and also it is understood that as frequency of radiation increases
spontaneous emission much more predominant

( B12 / B21) = 1

For stimulated emission to be predominant, we have A21 / B21 << 1

POPULATION INVERSION:
Under ordinary condition s of thermal equlibrium, The no of atoms in higher
energy level is less than the no of atoms in lowest energy level. So that there is
negligible Stimulated emission compared with absorption.
By some means, if the number of atoms in higher energy state be made
sufficiently larger than the number of atoms in lower energy state, then the
stimulated emission is promoted.
The situation in which the number of atoms in higher energy state exceeds the
number of atoms in lower energy state is known as Population inversion

A light photon (frequency ) is incident on an atom which is already in excited

energy state E2 This atom decays to a lower energy state E 1 , emitting a photon of
frequency  . the emitted photon is in perfect coherence.
If these two photons are incident on two other atoms in the state E 2 then they
give rise to the emission of two more photons. Thus, resulting in four coherent
photons. This process continues and the intensity of light beam increases
exponentially. This increase in intensity is known as “Light Amplification”
Population inversion is achieved by pumping the atoms from the ground
level to the higher energy level through optical (or) electrical pumping.
The method of raising the particles from lower energy state to higher
energy state is called “Pumping”.

Different methods of atomic excitations are adopted in different types of LASER

1. Excitation by Strong source of light – optical pumping
2. Excitation by electron impact – electrical pumping
3. Excitation by Chemical reaction –Chemical pumping
4. Excitation by Supersonic gas expansion – gas dynamic pumping etc.

The states of system, in which the population of higher energy state is more
in comparison with the population of lower energy state, are called
“Negative temperature state”.
A system in which population inversion is achieved is called as an active system.
6
DIFFERENMT TYPES OF LASES:
1. Solid state laser - Ruby laser, Nd-YAG laser
2. Gas laser - He-Ne laser, CO2 laser
3. Semi conductor laser - GaAs laser

Differences between Stimulated and spontaneous emission of radiation

S.no Stimulated Emission Spontaneous emission

1 An atom in the excited state is induced to The atom in the excited state returns to the
return to the ground state , thereby resulting ground state thereby emitting a photon,
in two photons of same frequency and without any external inducement is called
energy is called Stimulated emission Spontaneous emission
2 The emitted photons move in the same The emitted photons move in all directions
direction and is highly directional and are random
3 The radiation is highly intense , The radiation is less intense and is
monochromatic and coherent incoherent.
4 The photons are in phase, there is a constant The photons are not in phase (i.e.) there is
phase difference. no phase relationship between them
The rate of transition is given by The rate of transition is given by
R21 (St) = B21 u() N2 R21 (Sp) = A21 N2

Population Inversion:
Population Inversion creates a situation in which the number of atoms in higher
energy state is more than that in the lower energy state.
Usually at thermal equilibrium, the number of atoms N2 i.e., the population of
atoms at excited state is much lesser than the population of the atoms at ground
state N1 that is N1 > N2.

The Phenomenon of making N2 > N1 i.e, the number of particles N 2 more in

higher energy level than the number of particles N1 in lower energy level is
7
known as Population Inversion or inverted population. The states of system, in
which the population of higher energy state is more in compression to the
population of lower energy state are called negative temperature states.
Conditions of Population inversion.
1.
There must be at least two energy levels E2 > E1.
2.
There must be a source to supply the energy to the
medium. 3.The atoms must be continuously raised to the
excited state.

8
Metastable State
The key to the laser is the presence in many atoms of one or more excited
energy levels whose lifetimes may be 103 s or more instead of the usual 108 s.
Such relatively long-lived states are called metastable (temporarily stable)

An atom can exist in a metastable energy level for a longer time before
radiating than it can in an ordinary energy level.
An atom can be excited to a higher level by supplying energy to it.
Normally, excited atoms have short life times and release their energy in a
matter of 108 seconds through spontaneous emission. It means atoms do not
stay long to be stimulated. As a result, they undergo spontaneous emission and
rapidly return to the ground level; thereby population inversion could not be
established. In order to do so, the excited atoms are required to ‘wait’ at the
upper energy level till a large number of atoms accumulate at that level. In other
words, it is necessary that excited state have a longer lifetime. A Meta stable
state is such a state. Metastable can be readily obtained in a crystal system
containing impurity atoms. These levels lie in the forbidden gap of the host
crystal. There could be no population inversion and hence no laser action, if
metastable states don’t exist.
Pumping
The process to achieve the population inversion in the medium is called
Pumping action. It is essential requirement for producing a laser beam.
The methods commonly used for pumping action are:
1. Optical pumping (Excitation by Photons)
2. Electrical discharge method (Excitation by electrons)
9
3. Direct conversion
4. In elastic atom – atom collision between atoms
2. Optical pumping:
When the atoms are exposed to light radiations energy h, atoms in the lower
energy state absorb these radiations and they go to the excited state. This
method is called Optical pumping. It is used in solid state lasers like ruby laser
and Nd-YAG laser. In ruby laser, xenon flash lamp is used as pumping source.

3. Electrical discharge method (Excitation by electrons)

In this method, the electrons are produced in an electrical discharge tube. These
electrons are accelerated to high velocities by a strong electrical field. These
accelerated electrons collide with the gas atoms.
By the process, energy from the electrons is transferred to gas atoms. Some
atoms gain energy and they go to the excited state. This results in population
inversion. This method is called Electrical discharge method. This method of
pumping is used in gas lasers like argon and CO2 Laser

4. Direct Conversion
In this method, due to electrical energy applied in direct band gap
semiconductor like Ga As, recombination of electrons and holes takes place.
During the recombination process, the electrical energy is directly converted

10
into light energy.

Optical Pumping: Three- and Four-Level Systems

In a simple two-level system, it is not possible to obtain a population inversion
with optical pumping because the system can absorb pump light (i.e., gain
energy) only as long as population inversion, and thus light amplification, is not
achieved. Essentially, the problem is stimulated emission caused by the pump
light itself.
Inversion by optical pumping becomes possible when using a three-level
system. Pump light with a shorter wavelength (higher photon energy) can
transfer atoms from the ground state to the highest level. From there,
spontaneous emission or a non-radiative process (e.g., involving phonons in a
laser crystal) transfers atoms to an intermediate level, called the upper laser
level. From that level down to the ground state, the laser transition with
stimulated emission can occur. With sufficiently high pump intensity,
population inversion for the laser transition can be reached as stimulated
emission by the pump radiation is prevented by the transfer to the intermediate
level.
Laser gain with a much lower excitation level is possible in a four-level system,
such as Nd:YAG. Here, the lower level of the laser transition is somewhat
above the ground state, and a rapid (most often non-radiative) transfer from
there to the ground state keeps the population of the lower laser level very
small. Therefore, a moderate population in the third level (the upper laser level),
as achieved with a moderate pump intensity, is sufficient for laser amplification.

11
Three level and four level laser

Components of Lasers
1. Active Medium:
It is the material in which the laser action takes place. The active medium may
be solid crystals such as ruby or Nd:YAG, liquid dyes, gases like CO2 or
Helium / Neon, or semiconductors such as GaAs. This medium decides the
wavelength of laser radiation. Active mediums contain atoms which can
produce more stimulated emission than spontaneous emission and cause
amplification they are called “Active Centers”.
2. Pumping Energy Source (Excitation Mechanism):
Energy Source (Excitation mechanisms) pumps the active centers from ground
state to excited state to achieve population inversion. The pumping by energy
source can be optical, electrical or chemical depending on the active medium.
3. Resonance Cavity:
Resonance cavity consists of active medium enclosed between two mirrors one
is highly reflective mirror (100% reflective) and the other is partially
transmissive mirror (99% reflective).

12
RUBY LASER:
Ruby laser is a three level solid state laser having very high power of hundreds of mega
watt in a single pulse it is a pulsed laser.
The system consists of mainly three parts
1) ACTIVE MATERIAL: Ruby crystal in the form of rod.
Ruby 🠆 Crystalline Al2O3 + Cr (0.05%)
2) RESONANT CAVITY: A fully reflecting plate at the left end of the ruby crystal
and partially reflecting end at the right side of the ruby crystal both the surfaces are
optically flat and exactly parallel to each other.
3) EXCITING SYSTEM: A helical xenon flash tube with power supply source.

CONSTRUCTION: In ruby laser, ruby rod is a mixture of Al2O3+Cr2O3. It is a mixture

of Aluminum oxide in which some of ions Al+3 ions concentration doping of Cr+3 is about
0.05% , then the colour of rod becomes pink. The active medium in ruby rod is Cr+3 ions.

The length of the ruby rod is 4cm and diameter 5mm and both the ends of the ruby rod are
silvered such that one end is fully reflecting and the other end is partially reflecting.
The ruby rod is surrounded by helical xenon flash lamp tube which provides the optical
pumping to raise Cr+3 ions to upper energy level.

The chromium atom has been excited to an upper energy level by absorbing photons of wave
length 5600A0 from the flash lamp. Initially the chromium ions (Cr+3) are excited to the
energy levels E1 to E3 , the population in E3 increases.
Since the life time of E3 level is very less (10-8Sec). The Cr+3 ions drop to the level E2
which is matastable of life time 10-3Sec.The transition from E3 to E2 is
non-radiative.
Since the life time of metastable state is much longer, the no of ions in this state goes on
increasing hence population inversion achieved between the excited metastable state E2 and
the ground state E1.
13
When an excited ion passes spontaneously from the metastable state E 2 to the ground state
E1. It emit a photon of wave length 6993A 0 this photon travel through the ruby rod and if it
moving parallel to the axis of the crystal and it is reflected back and forth by the silver
ends until it stimulates an excited ion in E2
The emitted photon and stimulated photon are in phase the process is repeated again and again
finally the photon beam becomes intense; it emerges out through partially silvered ends.
Since the emitted photon and stimulating photon in phase, and have same frequency and are
traveling in the same direction, the laser beam has directionality along with spatial and
temporal coherence.
IMPORTANCE OF RESONATOR CAVITY: To make the beams parallel to each other
curved mirrors are used in the resonator cavity. Resonator mirrors are coated with multi
layer dielectric materials to reduce the absorption loss in the mirrors. Resonators act as
frequency selectors and also give rise to directionality to the output beam. The resonator
mirror provides partial feedback to the protons.

14
Nd: YAG laser
Nd: YAG laser is a neodymium based laser. Nd stands for Neodymium
(rare earth element) and YAG stands for Yttrium Aluminum Garnet ( Y 3Al5 O12) .
It is a four level solid state laser.

Principle:

The active medium Nd: YAG rod is optically pumped by Krypton flash tubes.
The Neodymium ions (Nd3+) are raised to excited levels. During the transition
from meta stable state to ground state, a laser beam of wavelength 1.064μm is
emitted.

Construction:

The construction of Nd: YAG laser is as shown in the figure 2.17. A

small amount of Yttrium ions (Y3 +) is replaced by Neodymium (Nd 3+) in the
active element of Nd: YAG crystal.

This active element is cut into a cylindrical rod. The ends of the cylindrical rod
are highly polished and they are made optically flat and parallel. This cylindrical
rod (laser rod) and a pumping source (flash tube) are placed inside a highly
(reflecting) elliptical reflector cavity.

The optical resonator is formed by using two external reflecting

mirrors. One mirror (M1) is 100% reflecting while the other mirror (M 2) is
partially reflecting.

15
Working:

Figure 2.18 shows the energy level diagram for Nd: YAG laser. These energy
levels are those of Neodymium (Nd3+) ions.

1. When the krypton flash lamp is switched on, by the absorption of light

radiation of wavelength 0.73μm and 0.8μm, the Neodymium(Nd 3+)

atoms are raised from ground level E 0 to upper levels E3and E4 (Pump
bands).

2. The Neodymium ions atoms make a transition from these energy levels
E2 by non-radiative transition. E2 is a metastable state.

3. The Neodymium ions are collected in the level E 2 and the population
inversion is achieved between E2 and E1.
4. An ion makes a spontaneous transition from E2 to E1, emitting a
photon of energy hγ. This emitted photon will trigger a chain of
stimulated photons between E2 and E1.
5. The photons thus generated travel back and forth between two mirrors
and grow in strength. After some time, the photon number multiplies
more rapidly.

6. After enough strength is attained (condition for laser being satisfied),

an intense laser light of wavelength 1.06μm is emitted through the

partial reflector. It corresponds to the transition from E2to E1.

Characteristics:

1. Type: It is a four level solid state laser.

16
 2. Active medium: The active medium is Nd: YAG laser.

3. Pumping method: Optical pumping is employed for pumping action.

4. Pumping source: Xenon or Krypton flash tube is used as

pumping source.

5. Optical resonator: Two ends of Nd: YAG rod is polished with

silver (one end is fully silvered and the other is partially silvered) are
used as optical resonator.

6. Power output: The power output is approximately 70 watt.

7. Nature of output: The nature of output is pulsed or continuous beam of

light.

8. Wavelength of the output: The wavelength of the output beam is

1.06μm(infra-red)

Advantages:

1. It has high energy output.

2. It has very high repetition rate operation

3. It is much easy to achieve population inversion.

Disadvantages:

The electron energy level structure of Nd3+ in YAG is complicated.

Applications:

1. It finds many applications in range finders and illuminators.

2. It is widely used in engineering applications such as resistor, trimming
scribing, micro machining operations as well as welding, drilling etc.

3. It finds many medical applications such as endoscopy, urology, neurosurgery,

ENT, gynecology, dermatology, dental surgery and general surgery.

17
He- Ne Laser
CONSTRUTION:
He - Ne gas laser consists of a gas discharge tube of length 80cm and diameter
of 1cm. The tube is made up of quartz and is filled with a mixture of Neon
under a pressure of 0.1mm of Hg. The Helium under the pressure of 1mm of Hg
the ratio of He-Ne mixture of about 10:1, hence the no of helium atoms are
greater than neon atoms. The mixtures is enclosed between a set of parallel
mirrors forming a resonating cavity, one of the mirrors is completely reflecting
and the other partially reflecting in order to amplify the output laser beam.

WORKING:
When a discharge is passed through the gaseous mixture electrons are
accelerated down the tube these accelerated electrons collide with the helium
atoms and excite them to higher energy levels since the levels are meta stable
energy levels he atoms spend sufficiently long time and
collide with neon atoms in the ground level E1 . Then neon atomsare
excited to the higher energy levels E4 & E6 and helium atoms are de
excited to the ground state E1

18
Since E6 & E4 are meta stable states, population inversion takes place at there
levels. The stimulated emission takes place between E6 to E3 gives a laser
light of wave length 6328A0 and the stimulated emission between E6 and E5
gives a laser light wave length of 3.39μm. Another stimulated emission
between E4 to E3 gives a laser light wave length of 1.15μm. The neon atoms
undergo spontaneous emission from E3 toE2 and E5 to E2. Finally the neon
atoms are returned to the ground state E1 from E2 by non-radeative diffusion
and collision process. After arriving the ground state, once again the neon
atoms are raised to E6 & E4 by excited helium atoms thus we can get
continuous ou put from He-Ne laser. But some optical elements placed
insides the laser system are used to absorb the infrared laser wave lengths
3.39μm
and1.15μm. hence the output of He-Ne laser contains only a single wave
length of 6328A0 and the output power is about few milliwatts .

Helium -Neon (He-Ne) Laser

Construction:
(i) Active medium:
It is a gas laser, which consists of a narrow quartz tube filled with a mixture of
helium and neon gases in the ratio 10:1 respectively, at low pressure (~0.1 mm
of Hg). Ne atoms act as active centres and responsible for the laser action, while
He atoms are used to help in the excitation process. The length of the quartz
tube is about 50 cm and the diameter is about 1 cm.

19
ii) Optical resonator:
To construct the optical resonator cavity, two parallel mirrors are placed at the
ends of the quartz tube one of them is partly transparent while the other is fully
reflecting. The spacing between the mirrors is adjusted such that it should be
equal to the integral multiple of half- wavelengths of the laser light.

(iii) Pumping system:

The pumping is done through electrical discharge by using electrodes that are
connected to a high frequency alternating current source.

Figure: The helium-neon laser. In a four-level laser such as this, continuous operation is possible.
Helium-neon lasers are commonly used to read bar codes.

The common helium-neon gas laser achieves a population inversion in a

different way. A mixture of about 10 parts of helium and 1 part of neon at a low
pressure (1 torr) is placed in a glass tube that has parallel mirrors, one of them
partly transparent, at both ends. The spacing of the mirrors is again (as in all
lasers) equal to an integral number of half-wavelengths of the laser light. An

20
electric discharge is produced in the gas by means of electrodes outside the tube

21
connected to a source of high-frequency alternating current, and collisions
with electrons from the discharge excite He and Ne atoms to metastable states
respectively 20.61 and 20.66 eV above their ground states. Some of the
excited He atoms transfer their energy to ground-state Ne atoms in collisions,
with the 0.05 eV of additional energy being provided by the kinetic energy of
the atoms. The purpose of the He atoms is thus to help achieve a population
inversion in the Ne atoms.
The laser transition in Ne is from the metastable state at 20.66 eV to an
excited state at 18.70 eV, with the emission of a 632.8-nm photon. Then
another photon is spontaneously emitted in a transition to a lower metastable
state; this transition yields only incoherent light. The remaining excitation
energy is lost in collisions with the tube walls. Because the electron impacts
that excite the He and Ne atoms occur all the time, unlike the pulsed
excitation from the xenon flash lamp in a ruby laser, a He-Ne laser operates
continuously. This is the laser whose narrow red beam is used in supermarkets
to read bar codes. In a He-Ne laser, only a tiny fraction (one in millions) of
the atoms present participates in the laser process at any moment.

Characteristics of He-Ne Laser

The He-Ne laser is a relatively low power device with an output in the visible
red portion of the spectrum. The most common wavelength produced by He-
Ne lasers is 632.8nm, although two lower power (1.152μm and 3.391μm)
infrared wavelengths can be produced if desired. Majority of He-Ne lasers
generate less than 10m watt of power, but some can be obtained commercially
with up to 50m watts of power. For He-Ne lasers the typical laser tube is from
10 to 100 cm in length and the life time of such a tube can be as high as
20,000 hours.
Applications / Uses of He-Ne Laser
The Helium-Neon gas laser is one of the most commonly used laser today

22
because of the following applications.
 He-Ne lasers are produced in large quantities from many years.
 Many schools / colleges / universities use this type of laser in their

science programs and experiments.

 He-Ne lasers also used in super market checkout counters to read bar

codes and QR codes.

 The He-Ne lasers also used by newspapers for reproducing transmitted
photographs.
 He-Ne lasers can be use as an alignment tool.
 It is also used in Guns for targeting.
Advantages of He-Ne Laser
 He-Ne laser has very good coherence property.
 He-Ne laser can produce three wavelengths that are 1.152μm, 3.391 μm

and 632.8nm, in which

 the 632.8nm is most common because it is visible usually in red color.
 He-Ne laser tube has very small length approximately from 10 to

100cm and best life time of 20.000 hours.

 Cost of He-Ne laser is less from most of other lasers.
 Construction of He-Ne laser is also not very complex.
 He-Ne laser provide inherent safety due to low power output.
Disadvantages of He-Ne Laser
The weak points of He-Ne laser are
 It is relatively low power device means its output power is low.
 He-Ne laser is low gain system/ device.
 To obtain single wavelength laser light, the other two wavelengths of

laser need suppression, which is done by many techniques and devices.

So it requires extra technical skill and increases the cast also.
 High voltage requirement can be considered its disadvantage.
 Escaping of gas from laser plasma tube is also its disadvantage.

23
Carbon Dioxide Laser: Definition, Principle
Definition
In carbon dioxide laser, Co2 gas molecules are used as the active medium and
population inversion is achieved by the electrical pumping method.

Principle
The active medium is a gas mixture of CO2, N2 and He. The laser transition
takes place between the vibrational states of CO2 molecules.

Energy states of CO2 molecules

Carbon dioxide (Co2) is a symmetric molecule (O=C=O) and it has three
modes of vibration:
 Symmetric stretching.
 Bending.
 Antisymmetric stretching is shown in the figure.

Symmetric stretching mode

In this mode of vibration, carbon atoms are at rest and both oxygen atoms
vibrate simultaneously along the axis of the molecule departing or approaching
the fixed carbon atoms.

Bending mode
In this mode of vibration, oxygen atoms and carbon atoms vibrate perpendicular
to molecular axis.
24
Asymmetric stretching mode
In this mode of vibration, oxygen atoms and carbon atoms vibrate
asymmetrically, i.e., oxygen atoms move in one direction while carbon atoms in
the other direction.

Components of Co2 Laser

Active medium ( or Carbon dioxide laser gain medium )
The main component of a Carbon dioxide laser is a medium in the form of CO2
gas molecules called an active medium. The main characteristics of the active
medium are as follows:

 It must have a pair of energy levels separated by a certain amount

of energy. The energy level having energy is known as an upper
energy level or higher excited energy level and the energy level
having low energy is known as low energy or ground state.
 It must allow a population inversion between two energy levels.
Pumping device
It is an external source of energy that provides the necessary energy to the
active medium to produce a state of population inversion essential for lasing
action.
A resonant cavity
Population inversion is achieved to amplify the signal by ( or Photon )
stimulated emission. However, in practice, most of the atoms in the excited state
emit spontaneously and do not contribute to the overall output. Only a few
atoms in the excited state emit via stimulated emission and the hand’s overall
gain of the output is small.

Therefore, we require a positive feedback mechanism to make most of the atom

in the excited state to emit via stimulated emission for contributing to the
current output. A device used to you have a positive feedback mechanism for
Maximum coherent output is known as resonator or resonant cavity.

Thus, a resonant cavity or resonator is a feedback device that makes the photon
to move back and forth through the active medium. In this process, the number
of photons emitted due to stimulated emission are multiplied.
A resonant cavity consists of a pair of plane or spherical mirrors placed parallel
to each other at the end of the active medium. One of the mirrors is a fully
reflecting mirror and the other is a partially transmitting mirror. The laser output
is taken out through the partially transmitting mirror which is also
called the output coupler mirror.
Population inversion in Carbon Dioxide laser

25
Population inversion in Carbon dioxide (CO2) laser is achieved by electric
discharge pumping. In this case, voltage is applied across the electrodes of the
gas discharge tube which is filled with a low-pressure gas mixture known as the
gain medium.

The applied voltage produces an electric field within the tube. This electric field
accelerates electrons within the gas. These electron collides with the gas atom
or gain medium and excite their atom to higher energy levels or excited energy
levels.

If the atom in the lower-lying energy level makes the transition to the excited
state faster than the atom in the higher-lying energy level makes the transition to
the lower-lying energy levels, then the population of atom in the higher energy
level is more than the population of atom in lower energy levels. Hence,
population inversion in gases is achieved.

Carbon Dioxide Laser Construction and Working

Construction of Carbon Dioxide Laser
it consists of a tube 5m long and 2 cm in diameter. The discharge is produced
by d.c excitation. The resonant cavity is formed of confocal silicon mirrors
coated with aluminum. Pressured He is about 7 Torr, P (N2)~ 1.2 Torr, and P
(CO2)~0.33 torr. The gain of E(0,0,1) – E (1,0,0) transition is higher, so laser
oscillator at 10.6 µm.

To obtain an oscillation of 9.0 µm, some selective device such as a diffraction

grating is placed in the cavity. The maximum power of this laser is about 50 –
60 w/m. CO2 lasers are widely used in the industries.
Working of Carbon Dioxide Laser

26
To have a CO2 laser, a mixture of Co2 and N2 in the ratio of about 0.8:1 is
filled in a gas discharge tube. Also, helium is part of the mixture. Helium is
more than N2 in the mixture. Co2 molecule act as an active or laser medium and
N2 molecule help in achieving the population inversion in the same way as
helium is used in He-Ne laser.
When an electric discharge is passed through the tube, the number of electrons
is emitted, which pumps nitrogen molecules to V = 1 state.

In CO2 laser, the energy difference between the vibrational energy levels of
Nitrogen and carbon dioxide is very small ( i.e. about 0.3 eV ) and hence there
are a large number of electrons in the gas discharge tube having the energy of
more than 0.3 eV. The energy levels of CO2 molecules are shown in the
figure.

The vibrational state for N2 is a metastable state. Therefore, it provides a longer

time for the collision between the excited N2 molecules and atom molecule of
Co2 in the ground state.

As a result of this, the Co2 molecules are excited to the energy state E (0,0,1).
Hence, population inversion is achieved as the number of CO2 molecules in the
energy state E (0,0,1) are much more than the Co2 molecules in other
vibrational states like E (1,0,0), E (0,0,2), and E (0,1,0).

Transition through stimulated emission process from energy level E (0,0,1) to

the energy level E (1,0,0)and E (0,2,0) give rise to infrared Photons of
wavelength10 µm and 9.6 µm respectively.
The function of adding Helium in the mixture of Co2 and N2 is many folds.
27
  It influences the lifetime of the energy label and does not spoil the
population inversion.
 Helium has high thermal conductivity and so helps to conduct heat
away to the walls of the tube keeping CO2 cold. In other words,
helium helps to depopulate the lower level.
Characteristics of Carbon Dioxide Laser
TITLE Description

Type It is a molecular gas laser.

A mixture of CO2 , N2, and helium or water vapor is used as

Active Medium
an active medium.

Optical resonator Two concave mirrors form a resonant cavity.

Pumping Method The electrical discharge method is used for Pumping action.

Power output The power output from this laser is about 10kW.

Nature of output The nature of output may be continuous wave or pulsed wave.

Wavelength of
The wavelength of output is 0.6μm and 10.6μm.
output
Advantages of Carbon Dioxide Laser
 The construction of CO2 laser is simple.
 The output of this laser is continuous.
 It has high efficiency.
 It has very high output power.
 The output power can be increased by extending the length of the
gas tube.
Disadvantages of Carbon Dioxide Laser
 The contamination of oxygen by carbon monoxide will have some
effect on laser action.
 The operating temperature plays an important role in determining
the output power of laser.
 The corrosion may occur at the reflecting plates.
 Accidental exposure may damage our eyes since it is invisible
(infrared region) to our eyes.
Application of Co2 laser
 Due to the high power of CO2 laser, it has frequently used in
industrial areas such as for cutting and welding.
 it is used for soft tissue surgery.
 it is used in fabricating.

28
  used in skincare problems to treat different non-cancerous (benign)
and cancerous (malignant).
 It is used to perform microsurgery and bloodless operations.

Laser Diode
Definition: LASER is an acronym of Light amplification by stimulated
emission of radiation. A laser diode emits radiation of a single wavelength or
sometimes a narrow band of closely spaced wavelength.

It emits light due to stimulated emission, in this when an incident photon strike
semiconductor atom, the electrons at higher energy level recombine with
lower energy level hole. Due to this two photons are emitted one incident
photon and other is emitted due to recombination of electrons and hole.

LEDs also work on the same principle but the major difference is the internal
architecture. A laser diode is formed from narrow channels and it acts as a
waveguide for light. But LEDs is made up of wide channels.

Due to its structure Laser diode emits coherent & monochromatic light
(Single colour). The light emitted by Laser diode consists of single
wavelength while LEDs emit light consisting of a wide band of wavelengths.
Thus, the light emitted by LED is incoherent.

Construction of Laser diode

29
The Laser diode is made up of two layers of Semiconductors i.e. P-type and
N-type. The layers of semiconductors are made up of GaAs doped with
materials like selenium, aluminium or silicon. The construction is same as that
of LED except the channels used in Laser are narrow to produce a single
beam of light.

And one more difference in a Laser diode is that an intrinsic layer of GaAs
(undoped) is also present. This layer is called active layer. The active layer is
enclosed by layers of lower refractive index. This act as optical reflectors.

These layers along with active layer form a waveguide so that light can travel
only in a single path in a single and fixed direction. The beam of light is
produced in this section. The metal contacts are provided to facilitate biasing.

Working of Laser diode

The laser diode works on the principle that every atom in its excited state can
emit photons if electrons at higher energy level are provided with an external
source of energy.

30
There are basically three phenomena by which an atom can emit light energy
and that are Absorption, Spontaneous Emission & Stimulated emission.

Absorption

31
In absorption, the electrons at lower energy levels jump to higher energy level
i.e. from valence band to conduction band when the electrons are provided
with an external source of energy. Now, there are holes at lower energy level
i.e. valence band and electrons at higher energy level i.e. conduction band.

Spontaneous Emission

Now, if the electrons in higher energy level are unstable then they will tend to
move to the lower energy level in order to achieve stability. But if they will
move from higher energy level to lower energy levels they will definitely
release the energy which will be the energy difference between these two
levels. The energy released will be in the form of light and thus photons will be
emitted. This process is called spontaneous emission.

Stimulated Emission

In stimulated emission, the photons strike electrons at higher energy level and
these photons are supplied from an external light energy source. When these
photons strike the electrons, electrons gain energy and they recombine with
holes and release an extra photon. Thus, one incident photon stimulates
another photon to release. Thus, this process is called stimulated emission.

Population inversion

The density of electrons at energy levels is the population of electrons and it is

more in valence band or lower energy band and less in the conduction band
or higher energy level. If the population of electrons increases at higher
energy level or the lifetime of higher energy states is long then stimulated
emission will increase. This increase of population at higher energy level is
termed as population inversion.

And this is the requisite state for Laser diode. More the population inversion
more will be the electrons at higher and meta stable state and more will be the
stimulated emission. The photons emitted are in the same phase with the
incident photons. And these photons travel as a single beam of light and thus
produce coherence.

Major Categories of Laser Diode

There are two major categories of Laser Diode i.e. Injection Laser
Diode & Optically Pumped semiconductor laser diode.

1. Injection laser diode: The operation is similar to LED except that

LEDs are formed by wide channels of Semiconductor while Laser
diodes are formed from narrow channels. We have already
discussed this in the construction of Laser Diode. In this, the light
beam travels in the waveguide and the diode itself acts as a
32
 waveguide. The light beam is amplified by repeated stimulated
emission.
2. Optically Pumped Semiconductor Laser: In optically pumped
laser the injection laser diode acts as an external pump. The III &
V group semiconductor materials act as a basis. And the
amplification is achieved by stimulated emission.
It offers several advantages such as prevention from interference caused due
to the electrode structure. Besides, it also provides an advantage of
wavelength selection.

Laser Diode L-I Characteristics

The light energy increases with increase in laser current but it is dependent on
temperature. It is evident from the curve that the light energy increases after a
particular threshold laser current. This threshold value of laser current
increases exponentially with the temperature.

Thus, at a higher temperature, the threshold value of laser current up to which

light energy is generated, also increases. Thus, it is necessary to operate the
laser diode up to threshold value of laser current because above this value
there is no light energy. In order to have a reliable operation, it is necessary to
determine the threshold value of laser current.

V-I Characteristics of Laser diode

The forward voltage of laser diode is generally around 1.5 V. Although the
forward voltage depends on operating temperature. The variance of current in
the diode with the voltage can be understood with the help of below diagram.

33
Advantages of Laser Diode

1. Low power Consumption device.

2. Economical as its cost of manufacturing and operation is low.
3. It can be operated for a long time.
4. Portable due to its small size and internal architecture.
5. Highly reliable and highly efficient.
Disadvantages of Laser Diode

1. These are temperature dependent and thus its operation is

affected by the change in operating temperature.
2. It is not suitable for high power application.
Applications of Laser diode

1. Fibre optical communication system.

2. Barcode readers.
3. Laser Printing and laser scanning.
4. Rangefinders.
5. In medical fields in surgical instruments.
6. In CD players and DVD recorder.
These are some of the significant applications of the LASER diode. Amongst
all of these applications the most crucial realm in which laser diode finds its
application is optical fibre communication system.

Applications of Lasers
Laser is an optical device that generates intense beam of
coherent monochromatic light by stimulated emission of
radiation.

Laser light is different from an ordinary light. It has

various unique properties such as coherence,
monochromacity, directionality, and high intensity.
Because of these unique properties, lasers are used in
various applications.

The most significant applications of lasers include:

34
  Lasers in medicine

 Lasers in communications

 Lasers in industries

 Lasers in science and technology

 Lasers in military

Lasers in Medicine

1. Lasers are used for bloodless surgery.

2. Lasers are used to destroy kidney stones.

3. Lasers are used in cancer diagnosis and therapy.

4. Lasers are used for eye lens curvature

corrections.
5. Lasers are used in fiber-optic endoscope to

detect ulcers in the intestines.

6. The liver and lung diseases could be treated by

using lasers.
7. Lasers are used to study the internal structure of

microorganisms and cells.

8. Lasers are used to produce chemical reactions.

9. Lasers are used to create plasma.

10. Lasers are used to remove tumors successfully.

11. Lasers are used to remove the caries or decayed

portion of the teeth.

35
 12. Lasers are used in cosmetic treatments such as

acne treatment, cellulite and hair removal.

Lasers in Communications

1. Laser light is used in optical fiber

communications to send information over large

distances with low loss.

2. Laser light is used in underwater communication

networks.
3. Lasers are used in space communication, radars

and satellites.

Lasers in Industries

1. Lasers are used to cut glass and quartz.

2. Lasers are used in electronic industries for

trimming the components of Integrated Circuits (ICs).

3. Lasers are used for heat treatment in the

automotive industry.
4. Laser light is used to collect the information

about the prefixed prices of various products in shops

and business establishments from the bar code

printed on the product.

5. Ultraviolet lasers are used in the semiconductor

industries for photolithography. Photolithography is

the method used for manufacturing printed circuit

36
 board (PCB) and microprocessor by using ultraviolet

light.
6. Lasers are used to drill aerosol nozzles and

control orifices within the required precision.

Lasers in Science and Technology

1. A laser helps in studying the Brownian motion of

particles.
2. With the help of a helium-neon laser, it was

proved that the velocity of light is same in all

directions.
3. With the help of a laser, it is possible to count

the number of atoms in a substance.

4. Lasers are used in computers to retrieve stored

information from a Compact Disc (CD).

5. Lasers are used to store large amount of

information or data in CD-ROM.

6. Lasers are used to measure the pollutant gases

and other contaminants of the atmosphere.

7. Lasers helps in determining the rate of rotation

of the earth accurately.

8. Lasers are used in computer printers.

37
 9. Lasers are used for producing three-dimensional

pictures in space without the use of lens.

10. Lasers are used for detecting earthquakes and

underwater nuclear blasts.

11. A gallium arsenide diode laser can be used to

setup an invisible fence to protect an area.

Lasers in Military

1. Laser range finders are used to determine the

distance to an object.
2. The ring laser gyroscope is used for sensing and

measuring very small angle of rotation of the moving

objects.
3. Lasers can be used as a secretive illuminators

for reconnaissance during night with high precision.

4. Lasers are used to dispose the energy of a

warhead by damaging the missile.

5. Laser light is used in LIDAR’s to accurately

measure the distance to an object.

38